U.S. Senate Republican leaders
postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul on Tuesday after resistance from
members of their own party, and President Donald Trump summoned Republican
senators to the White House to urge them to break the impasse.
The delay put the future of a
longtime top Republican priority in doubt amid concerns about the Senate bill
from both moderate and conservative Republicans. With Democrats united in their
opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two votes among their own ranks
in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell had been pushing for a vote ahead of the July 4 recess that starts at
the end of the week. The legislation would repeal major elements of Obamacare
and shrink the Medicaid government healthcare program for the poor.
"We're going to press
on," McConnell said after announcing the delay, adding that leaders would
keep working to make senators "comfortable" with the bill.
"We're optimistic we're going to get to a result that is better than the
status quo."
At the White House meeting with
most of the 52 Republican senators, Trump said it was vital to reach agreement
on the Senate healthcare measure because Obamacare was "melting
down."
"So we're going to talk and
we're going to see what we can do. We're getting very close," Trump told
the senators. But he added, "If we don't get it done, it's just going to
be something that we're not going to like, and that's okay."
McConnell, whose party has a
razor-thin majority in the 100-member Senate, told reporters that Republican
leaders would work through the week to win over the 50 senators needed to pass
the bill, with a vote planned after the recess. Vice President Mike Pence could
provide the crucial vote needed to break a tie.
"I think we can get 50 votes
to yes by the end of the week," Republican Senator Roger Wicker said after
the White House meeting.
REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION GROWS
The House of Representatives last
month passed its own version of a healthcare bill, but the Senate bill has been
criticized from both the left and the right. Moderate Republicans worried
millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does
not do enough to erase Obamacare.
The bill's prospects were not
helped by a Congressional Budget Office analysis on Monday saying it would
cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade, although it
would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over that period.
The report prompted Senator Susan
Collins, a Republican moderate, to say she could not support the bill as it
stands. At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still
opposed after the CBO analysis.
Three more Republicans, Rob
Portman of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West
Virginia, said after the delay was announced that they oppose the current
draft.
Portman and Capito cited the
bill's Medicaid cutbacks and how that would hurt efforts to combat the opioid
epidemic that has taken a heavy toll in their states. The Medicaid program was
expanded under former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
"I think giving time to
digest is a good thing," Republican Senator Bob Corker said after the
delay was announced.
"UNCERTAINTY" ON WALL STREET
U.S. stock prices fell, as the
decision to postpone the vote added to investor worries about Trump's ability
to deliver on his promises of tax reform and deregulation, as well as changes
to the health sector. Those expected changes have driven a rally in U.S. stocks
this year.
The benchmark S&P 500 index
closed down 0.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished down
0.46 percent.
“The market likes certainty and
now there’s uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of
the next iteration?" said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire
Executions Inc.
Passing the measure would be a
win for Trump as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over
Russia's role in last year's U.S. presidential election.
McConnell has promised since 2010
that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would
destroy the law "root and branch" if they controlled Congress and the
White House. Republicans worry a failure to deliver will cost them votes in
next year's congressional elections.
If the Senate passes a healthcare
bill, it will either have to be approved by the House or the two chambers would
reconcile the differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could
pass a new version and send it back to the Senate.
Lawmakers are expected to leave
town by Friday for their July 4 holiday break, which runs all next week. The
Senate returns to work on July 10, the House on July 11. Lawmakers then have
three weeks in session before their month-long August recess.